M109 – Barred Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI290MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 11x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.5 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

This is M109, a beautiful little spiral galaxy in Ursa Major located very near the bowl of the Big Dipper. M109 is an example of a barred galaxy, named for the bar of stars that pass through the galaxy’s core from upper left to lower right. Our own Milky Way galaxy is also believed to be a barred spiral much like M109. If you look closely you can also see two satellite galaxies of M109; UGC 6969 to the left and UGC 6940 near the bottom of this field.